In a surprising circumstance, the UTM party incumbent leader, who is also the state vice president, Michael Usi and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) brass were not present at a memorial Mass held at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Mzuzu in honour of the late Saulos Klaus Chilima.
The absence of Usi, who took over the mantle of leadership at the UTM party from the late Chilima, is unusual, especially given that representatives from other major political parties were present at the ceremony.
Malawi24 understands that among those in attendance were Chilima’s widow, Mary, political party representatives such as former vice president Khumbo Kachale, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice president for the North, Jappie Mhango, Alliance for Democracy( AFORD) president Enoch Chihana and his deputy Timothy Mtambo.
The service was also graced by Minister of Labour Agness Nyalonje and UTM’s presidential aspirants, Newton Kambala and Dalitso Kabambe, just to mention a few.
In her response to a WhatsApp questionnaire, MCP Publicity Secretary, Jessie Kabwira expressed ignorance on the event.
“Was not aware of this,” she said.
UTM National Publicity Secretary, Felix Njawala had not yet responded to our questionnaire as we went to press.
In his sermon, Bishop Martin Anwell Mtumbuka of the Karonga Diocese encouraged the Catholic community to join politics and be agents of change in the social and economic development of the country.
“Don’t be cowards, stand up and be counted,” he said.
Mtumbuka added: “I call upon you men and women in the catholic church, especially you young people, to be brave and stay strong in promoting the goodwill, go out there.”
The event, held under the theme ‘Stay awake’, was organized by Catholics under the Mzuzu and Karonga Dioceses and was led by Bishop John Ryan of the Mzuzu Diocese and Bishop Martin Anwell Mtumbuka of the Karonga Diocese.
The Mass was held a day after the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents (BFU) released a preliminary report on the accident that claimed the lives of Chilima and eight others after a Malawi Defence aircraft crashed in Chikangawa forest on 10 June 2024.
Though the report does not indicate the exact cause of the accident, it has been discovered that the plane had dysfunctional some important devices, such as the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR).
The BFU expects to release a comprehensive report next year.
